Chris Potter: Critiques of Jay Cutler miss the mark

Tuesday

Jan 25, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 25, 2011 at 4:50 AM

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler didn’t deserve the Twitter-fueled lashing he received from a host of current and former NFL?players after leaving Sunday’s NFC?Championship game against Green Bay with an injured knee.

Chris Potter

Jay Cutler doesn’t appear to have much of an endearing personality.

The Chicago quarterback often projects the level of warmth and friendliness you would expect to find from a grizzly bear rudely awakened from its winter slumber.

Cutler comports himself as if he’s deliberately trying to be the antithesis of the 21st-century star athlete.

The Manning brothers are in more commercials than the GEICO gecko. Tom Brady cameos on HBO’s "Entourage" and headbutts teammates before games.

Cutler eschews media attention and endorsements. His facial expression seems to change as much as that of the Sphinx.

Public persona aside, Cutler didn’t deserve the Twitter-fueled lashing he received from a host of current and former NFL?players after leaving Sunday’s NFC?Championship game against Green Bay with an injured knee.

The criticisms immediately questioned Cutler’s toughness and heart, perhaps the greatest insult that can be leveled on the gridiron. The fact that those critiques came from his brethren around the league added salt to the wound, although the beleaguered QB didn’t have to wait too long for some small piece of vindication.

An MRI?conducted Monday revealed that Cutler did indeed sprain the MCL?in his left knee, proving that the damage was more serious than the phantom injury implied by the arm-chair quarterbacks “tweeting” from couches across the country.

You can question Cutler’s demeanor and attitude — the fact that Denver was willing to give up on a third-year QB who had just thrown for 4,526 yards shows just how much Cutler can wear out his welcome off the field.

You can question Cutler’s decision-making with the ball — after all, this is a guy that has tossed 60 interceptions the past three seasons.

But you can’t question Cutler’s toughness. The Vanderbilt product was sacked a league-high 52 times in 2010, yet missed only one game and never publicly complained about the lack of protection from an offensive line that would undoubtably get lost on its way to a block party.

And that’s to say nothing of the battle Cutler wages against Type 1 diabetes every day.

Cutler’s accuracy appeared to be thrown off by the injury, as evidenced on the Bears final drive of the half, which ended in an interception on an underthrown pass.

The Chicago trainers and coaching staff made the call to lift Cutler for backup Todd Collins after one series in the third quarter, and the uneducated second-guessing of Twitter nation commenced shortly thereafter.

Collins succeeded only in proving that his NFL?days are over before Chicago turned to third-stringer Caleb Hanie, who directed two scoring drives to get the Bears back in the game.

Could a physically impaired Cutler have done the same against an underrated Packers defense that had already stymied Mike Vick and Matt Ryan?

Gutting through a serious injury isn’t heroic if you’re costing your team by keeping the next guy on the bench. About a decade ago, it was Brady that was sidelined with a leg injury in a conference title game. Drew Bledsoe came off the bench to help lead New England to an upset of Pittsburgh and a trip to Super Bowl XXXVI.

Hanie and the rest of the Chicago organization were uniform in the defense of their quarterback. After the game, Brian Urlacher chalked the criticism up to “jealousy,” while center Olin Kreutz pointed out that Cutler’s leg was shaking uncontrollably in the huddle during the second quarter.

Although the live camera shots pictured only an aloof Cutler on the sidelines, Hanie said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000 on Monday that Cutler had words of encouragement throughout the game.

Of course, reality and perception don’t always play on the same team, especially in a Twitter Universe that often sacrifices measured contemplation for immediacy and stream of consciousness.

Cutler clearly has the support of the only players who matter — his teammates. Perhaps the past 48 hours will light a fire that propels him to fulfill his vast potential. In the meantime, here’s hoping the whole episode of mass rush to judgment reminds social media users that sometimes the best post is none at all.

Chris Potter is a sports writer at the Evening Tribune in Hornell, N.Y. He can be reached at chrispotter@eveningtribune.com

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